Life on Earth and McKinley High Chapter Eleven
by Quiteshy
Summary: Brittany S. "Fierce" embraces her inner feline when she meets a black panther and her cubs. Grace helps a fearful Santana. This chapter is told from Santana's point of view.


Chapter 11 

I had just awoken from a beautiful dream. Brittany, Quinn and I were sitting on huge blanket overlooking a meadow. Brittany was snuggled next to me and Quinn was watching her panther girlfriend playing with her sisters. The Miller girls were sparring and John was the referee. The girls were phasing, laughing and growling as John put them through their paces. Their speed was mesmerising. It was a case of now you see them, now you don't. Whenever they took a break from sparring, Barbara would run over to Quinn. Quinn was laughing hysterically and held her arms up to protect herself from the panther bounding towards her. Barbara knew what she was doing and easily stopped in front of Quinn to nuzzle up to her. Brittany was fascinated with the panther girls and vowed to teach Lord Tubbington how to phase. Brittany had just returned from downstairs to see if I was awake.

"Hurry up and get dressed. Grace is cooking us breakfast and I want to see panthers!"

"Brittany, what time is it?"

"Its 10:30 sleepyhead," said Brittany as she pulled back the covers.

"Is Spaceboy up yet?

"No, he is still asleep. I'm going downstairs to finish my breakfast. I'll see you in the kitchen," replied Brittany as she bounded out of the room.

I didn't realise the time. Even though John likes to sleep in, it is usually Brittany or I who are late for breakfast. I thought I'd check to see if he was awake. I knocked on the door and was greeted with a gentle growl. I opened the door to find Alice lying on the bed. I couldn't see John under his panther bed spread though was sure he was warm as toast.

"Good morning guys. Grace is cooking breakfast and wants us to hurry up."

Alice growled softly and swished her tail in acknowledgment. I quietly closed the door behind me and returned to my bedroom. I was hungry now and quickly got dressed. I went downstairs to find Grace, Brittany and Alice in the kitchen.

"Good morning, Santana. I saved some pancakes for you," said Grace.

Grace looked at Alice as she served my breakfast. She looked concerned about something.

"Has there been any change?" enquired Grace.

"No, he slept twelve hours straight last night," replied Alice.

"Is John sick?" enquired Brittany.

"No, though he just seems to be tired all the time," replied Alice.

"Will John be coming to the zoo to see the panthers?" enquired Brittany.

"Yes honey, he'll be there," smiled Alice.

John had made his way to the kitchen. Once he was seated, Grace quickly placed his breakfast in front of him.

"I'm sorry I'm late. Barbara and Glenda telepathed me at the same time,"

"What's the latest?" enquired Grace.

"Barbara has elected to spend the day with Quinn and won't be joining us today. Glenda has convinced the owner of the zoo to allow us inside the panther enclosure to see the cubs. She is waiting for us at the zoo."

"These panthers are wild aren't they?" I enquired.

"No, the mother is okay with her handler. The problem is she doesn't like strangers coming near her cubs," said John.

"That sounds dangerous. Will the handler be able to protect us from an angry panther?" I enquired.

"Not on his own. That's why he has appointed Glenda as his assistant."

"How did she manage that?"

"Glenda stood up to the panther. The handler was so impressed with her courage he asked her out on a date. A condition of the date was that we were allowed to spend time with the cubs."

"Okay guys, I want less talking and more eating!" demanded Grace.

We quickly finished our breakfast and headed off to the zoo. Brittany was so excited. She was really looking forward to playing with the cubs. I think the Millers are excited too. It has been a while since they have seen a panther cub. We arrived at the zoo to be greeted by an ever smiling Glenda.

"Good morning. You are in for a treat. Who wants to be first?"

Brittany quickly raised her hand.

"Okay Brittany, I want you to wait until I am ready for you. John will instruct you on what to do," said Glenda.

Brittany and I stood close to John as we watched Glenda enter the enclosure. You couldn't see anything until the mother jumped up to growl at Glenda. The handler was about to intervene before Glenda waved him away. The panther continued to growl as she ran towards Glenda. Glenda stood her ground and the panther stopped a few yards in front of her. The panther's growling grew softer as she tried to step to the side of Glenda. Glenda matched stride with the panther so that she was always standing in front of her. Brittany was enjoying Glenda's "panther dance" and wanted to do the same.

"Brittany, it's your turn. Glenda has told me that the panther has calmed down and will not attack. You need to be careful though. You must walk slowly towards Glenda and stay directly behind her at all times." said John.

Brittany entered the enclosure and followed John's instructions. John told me that Glenda had partly phased to hypnotise the panther. Glenda was careful not to look at the handler as her eyes changed. The panther didn't like Glenda's stare and attempted to move away from her gaze. Glenda continued to hypnotise the panther until it was safe for Brittany to go inside.

Brittany successfully walked up to Glenda and held her hand. They stood quietly in front of the panther while they waited for me. I was still nervous about going inside and my heart was beating out of my chest. Grace came over to comfort me.

"Santana, you need to calm down. You will be fine so long as you walk slowly towards Glenda and Brittany." advised Grace.

I followed John's instructions as I walked towards them. I had only walked a quarter of the way before I fell over and panicked. I heard growling and quickly ran out of the enclosure as fast as I could.

"I'm sorry, I can't do this," I cried.

"Santana, do you trust me?" said Grace.

"Yes, of course," I sobbed.

"Good. I want you to dry your eyes and take my hand. We will walk inside together," said Grace.

I composed myself and held Grace's hand. We walked slowly towards Brittany and Glenda who were waiting patiently for us to arrive.

"Santana, I am so glad you made it. I wanted us to see the panthers together. Aren't they beautiful?" cried an excited Brittany.

We walked over towards the cubs whilst Glenda and Grace distracted the mother. Brittany sat down with the playful cubs. I felt my mouth take over my face. I couldn't stop smiling. Brittany was clearly in her element. She was so engrossed with the black panthers that she hadn't noticed that I had walked away to speak with Grace.

"I owe you an apology and a thank you,"

"There is no need to apologise and it is Glenda you should be thanking," said Grace.

"Yes, Glenda has been wonderful to us. I still feel stupid for panicking like that."

"My family don't think you're stupid. We just want you to trust us." said Grace.

"I'm learning. The whole alien panther thing is hard to get used to."

"Well get used to it Pocahotness, we're not going anywhere," smiled Grace.

"I'm glad, Top Cat. I would miss you," I replied.

To be continued…


End file.
